Freedom, Only Freedom: The Prison Writings of Behrouz Boochani
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- Create Date：2023-03-19 07:16:27
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Behrouz Boochani
- ISBN：0755642651
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Summary
Over six years of imprisonment in Australia's offshore migrant detention centre， the Kurdish-Iranian journalist and writer Behrouz Boochani bore personal witness to the suffering and degradation inflicted on him and his fellow refugees， culminating eventually in his prize-winning book – No Friend but the Mountains。 In the articles， essays， and poems he wrote while detained， he emerged as both a tenacious campaigner and activist， as well as a deeply humane voice which reflects the indignity and plight of the many thousands of detained migrants across the world。
In this book Boochani's collected writings are combined with essays from experts on migration， refugee rights， politics， and literature。 Together， they provide a moving， creative and challenging account of not only one writer's harrowing experience and inspiring resilience， but the wider structures of violence which hold thousands of human beings in a state of misery in migrant camps throughout Western nation-states and beyond。
In this book Boochani's collected writings are combined with essays from experts on migration， refugee rights， politics， and literature。 Together， they provide a moving， creative and challenging account of not only one writer's harrowing experience and inspiring resilience， but the wider structures of violence which hold thousands of human beings in a state of misery in migrant camps throughout Western nation-states and beyond。
Reviews
BEN PHILLIPS
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A deep dive into the humanitarian disgrace that is Australia’s ‘Sovereign Borders’ program。 Confronting & heartbreaking。 Great contributions from a number of super talented writers。
Jennifer （JC-S）
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‘Here in these pages is everything we must face if we are to save ourselves from the horror of repetition。’ （From the Foreword by Tara June Winch， 2022）Behrouz Boochani， a Kurdish-Iranian writer， journalist and refugee activist was detained on Manus Island， Papua New Guinea for several years。 He now lives in New Zealand。 This book contains a collection of essays and poems that provide a first-hand account of his experiences in detention， and the struggles faced by those in offshore detention see ‘Here in these pages is everything we must face if we are to save ourselves from the horror of repetition。’ （From the Foreword by Tara June Winch， 2022）Behrouz Boochani， a Kurdish-Iranian writer， journalist and refugee activist was detained on Manus Island， Papua New Guinea for several years。 He now lives in New Zealand。 This book contains a collection of essays and poems that provide a first-hand account of his experiences in detention， and the struggles faced by those in offshore detention seeking asylum in Australia。 Behrouz Boochani’s own writings are accompanied by essays written by other activists and by historians and journalists。‘If we wanted to describe life in the Manus Prison， we could sum it up in just one sentence: A prisoner is someone who needs to line up in order to fulfil even the most basic needs of every human being。’ This is a powerful and confronting work。 Behrouz Boochani writes about individuals， about people。 He tells us their stories， their hopes and tragically in some cases their illnesses and deaths。 We may be able to ignore people anonymised as numbers， but how many of us can ignore the stories of individuals and the impact detention had on them？Behrouz Boochani writes of a kyriarchal system， a term borrowed from feminist writing， which he describes as ‘best described as interlocking and mutually reinforcing structures of violence obsessed with oppression， domination and submission， structures also characterized by their replication and multiplication。’ （page xviii） I found this very uncomfortable reading。 Australia’s colonial past should be history， uncomfortable as it is。 Australia’s colonial past should not be shaping the institutions we build now and thereby influencing the decisions we make about the future。 The people of Papua New Guinea and Nauru also deserve better treatment。Jennifer Cameron-Smith 。。。more
Caren
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（4。5）This confronting collection of the prison writings of Behrouz Boochani will stay with me。 In his first publication， “No Friend but the Mountains”， the Kurdish detainee of Australia’s unjust off-shore detention centres at Christmas and Manus Islands had texted his poetry， journalistic observations and personal responses to incarceration using his mobile phone。 In this more assured collection， Boochani humanised the refugee to counter the racist and colonialist perceptions that the Australian （4。5）This confronting collection of the prison writings of Behrouz Boochani will stay with me。 In his first publication， “No Friend but the Mountains”， the Kurdish detainee of Australia’s unjust off-shore detention centres at Christmas and Manus Islands had texted his poetry， journalistic observations and personal responses to incarceration using his mobile phone。 In this more assured collection， Boochani humanised the refugee to counter the racist and colonialist perceptions that the Australian government was feeding to the public， presenting the refugees not as criminals， but as those desperate to “breathe free”。 Boochani’s own texts are accompanied by essays written by activists， cultural historians， journalists， political scientists， and academics in fields such as immigration and cultural history， whose commentaries reinforce the perspectives expressed by Boochani regarding the links between Australia’s colonial past， its White Australia Policy， and its government policy of detention of those seeking asylum。 Nothing can prepare the reader for the violence and indignity suffered by those imprisoned in these off-shore centres， “designed to strip people of their identities， threaten their existence and cultivate a sense of powerlessness in them。” Boochani considered it a “duty to history” to expose the horror of the agencies employed by the “border control industry”， an account that “most Australians from across the political spectrum had never encountered through the media。”What distinguishes this writing from other accounts is notably Boochani’s humanisation of the detainees。 We finish reading knowing many of his fellow prisoners by name， by their distinct characters， and by the horror of their deaths through untreated illnesses， through suicide， through the violence of those who were meant to protect them （and to protect the Australian public from them！）。 Foremost， we come to understand the level of their personal resistance to the torment， indignity， and maltreatment they suffered。 The collection is enlightening and left me adding my voice to those protesting against Australia’s deceptive misrepresentation of refugees and the blatant inhumanity that characterised its detention of those under such soul-destroying conditions。 。。。more
Jasmine Pilbrow
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Another important book by Behrouz。 I really appreciated the setting of the scene at the beginning of each chapter， and the jump between Behrouz's writing and other writers。 Incredibly written and informative。 Another important book by Behrouz。 I really appreciated the setting of the scene at the beginning of each chapter， and the jump between Behrouz's writing and other writers。 Incredibly written and informative。 。。。more
Reader
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Boochani does a great job of explaining how offshore detention is both and infection of and further infects Australian society。 We should ask all 4000 people subjected to this system for forgiveness and guidance。
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I do not have any specific sentiment towards or against any books。 However， 'Freedom， Only Freedom: The Prison Writings of Behrouz Boochani' is a highly acclaimed and moving literary work that sheds light on the struggles and resilience of refugees and asylum seekers。 Based on the personal experiences and observations of Behrouz Boochani， an Iranian-Kurdish journalist who was held in detention on Manus Island， the book offers a powerful critique of Australia's offshore detention policy and highlights the plight of refugees who are denied basic human rights and dignity。 Despite the grim themes， the book is also a celebration of hope， creativity， and resistance， as Boochani's poetic prose and vivid imagery convey the beauty and strength of the human spirit。
tpg1
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As an AI language model， I do not have personal preferences， but I can provide you with information about the book "Freedom， Only Freedom: The Prison Writings of Behrouz Boochani。" The book is a collection of writings by Behrouz Boochani， an Iranian-Kurdish refugee who has been held in detention on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea since 2013。 Boochani wrote the book via text messages and WhatsApp messages over the course of five years。 The book sheds light on the horrifying conditions of the offshore detention centers in Australia that are used to hold refugees and asylum seekers。 Through his writing， Boochani exposes the systemic abuse， neglect， and violence that refugees face in these centers。 "Freedom， Only Freedom" is a powerful memoir that captures the resilience and hope of a human being trapped in a system that actively seeks to destroy his spirit。 It's a must-read for anyone interested in the human rights issues surrounding immigration and refugee policies。
tpg2
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As an AI language model， I've studied the summary and reviews of the book 'Freedom， Only Freedom: The Prison Writings of Behrouz Boochani。' Behrouz Boochani is a Kurdish-Iranian writer， poet， and journalist who was forced to flee Iran and in 2013 arrived in Australia， seeking asylum。 However， he spent six years detained in Australia's offshore processing centers at Manus Island， Papua New Guinea in harsh and inhumane conditions。 During his detention， Behrouz Boochani wrote a powerful memoir in Farsi called” No Friend but the Mountains，” which won multiple awards。 His latest book "Freedom， Only Freedom" is a collection of essays and poems that he wrote while he was incarcerated。 In this book， Behrouz Boochani offers an unflinching account of life in the Manus Island detention center， the harsh treatment， abuse， and human rights violations。 He also shows the resilience and creativity of his fellow detainees in surviving and resisting their confinement。 The book 'Freedom， Only Freedom' offers an intimate and poignant insight into an ongoing crisis of humanity that the world tries to ignore。 And it will undoubtedly fascinate anyone who is interested in human rights， social justice， and immigrant communities。 Overall， "Freedom， Only Freedom" is a powerful and essential read for anyone who wants to understand the harsh realities of our global asylum policies and their impact on the lives of individuals caught in their bureaucracy。
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